Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of palate: report of a case

Bae, Jung Ho; Yoon, Kyu Ho; Park, Kwan Soo; Cheong, Jeong Kwon; Shin, Jae Myung; Hong, Sung Chul

Abstract

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is one of the most common malignant salivary gland neoplasm. It occurs over a wide age range, and is most common in the parotid gland and usually appears as an asymptomatic swelling. Pain or facial nerve palsy may develop. Minor salivary gland tumors also typically appear as asymptomatic swellings, which are sometimes fluctuant and have blue or red color that can be mistaken clinically for a mucocele. Histopathologically the mucoepidermoid carcinoma is composed of a mixture of mucous-producing cells and squamous (epidermoid) cells. Low-grade tumors show prominent cyst formation, minimal cellular atypia, and relatively high proportion of mucous cells. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the minor salivary glands are treated usually by assured surgical excision. For low-grade neoplasm, only a modest margin of surrounding normal tissue may need to be removed, but high-grade or large tumors warrant wider resection. Post-operative radiation therapy also may be used for more aggressive tumors. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the oral minor salivary glands generally have a good prognosis, because they are mostly low-to intermediate grade tumors. We present a case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma managed with surgical enucleation and postoperative irradiation and a good clinical result with review of literatures.